Basic Downloads

Are you new to speech and debate? The following downloads are for you. They contain introductions to various events that the Monument Membership explores. These downloads are updated every summer to prepare for the new year of competition.

Your Basic Downloads Source Material for Season 22:

File Name	S21-Policy-Stoa-30-NEG-Guantanamo.docx
File Size	61.95 KB
Date added	May 3, 2021
Category	Archived
Tags	Season 21

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is an installation on the coast of Cuba that is leased by the US from the government of Cuba. It was established long ago, before the current communist government took power, by a treaty between the US and Cuba. The Cuban government would have long ago terminated the lease and sent the Americans home, except they can’t. The treaty requires consent by both parties (U.S. government and the Cuban government) to terminate the lease, and the US government will never consent.

The facts above set up what happened in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Pres. George W. Bush was looking for a way to process foreign citizen bad guys captured during various operations related to the “War on Terror” that followed 9/11. Some of the traditional rules (he argued) didn’t apply. There are established procedures for processing prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. But these guys weren’t legally “prisoners of war” because they weren’t in the employ of any recognized government or army. What were they? Pres. Bush classified them as “enemy combatants” (or sometimes “unlawful enemy combatants”) and used that authorization to do two things. First, it justified indefinite detention for as long as the US felt was needed to keep them from going back and doing more bad things. Second, it justified putting them on trial under “military commissions” instead of the usual trials held in criminal cases in ordinary federal courts. These are also known as “Article III” courts, referring to the section of the Constitution where they are defined. For example, if you robbed a federally insured bank in New York City, you would be prosecuted in a federal Article III court. If you didn’t plea bargain, you would be given a jury trial in front of a federal judge in New York. Military commissions avoid all that and do their work within the military justice system.

And just to be sure that no meddlesome courts or lawyers would try to get in the way, Pres. Bush ordered these detainees to be held in prison facilities at Guantanamo. In other words, “not” (officially, completely) on US soil (so maybe the Constitution doesn’t apply?) and not anywhere that the media or lawyers could get easy access to them. Guantanamo consists entirely of military facilities. There is no tourism or outside visitation allowed unless authorized by the Navy.

Most of the prisoners that have been detained at Guantanamo have either been released or convicted by the military commissions and sent to regular federal prison. But there are a few left that are lingering, never having had a trial and never having been convicted of a crime, yet considered too dangerous to release. The government says they’re working on trials, but the military commission process is terribly slow and inefficient. Indefinite detainment without trial is allegedly a human rights violation (you can dispute that in the Neg evidence below), so AFF might argue that we either need to try them or release them. There are several possible Affirmative plans that could be done here. One is to bring them back to the U.S. and put them on trial in real (Article III) federal courts. If they’re found not guilty, they are cut loose. If guilty, they go to federal prison. Another is to simply release them and send them back to their home countries, under the theory that they are no longer a threat and we’ve delayed their human right to a trial for so long that a fair trial is now impossible.

Some of the issue with Article III trials is the conditions under which these detainees were caught. There is no police investigation, CSI teams collecting forensic evidence, etc. These bad guys were caught overseas in conflict situations and war zones. We may “know” they’re bad guys, but proving it in a law enforcement context might be impossible.

Since we don’t know in advance what AFF’s plan is, you will have to judge after hearing it which NEG evidence here can be used. The Counterplan is not consistent with many of the arguments in the rest of the brief, so you will need to avoid self-contradictory arguments that could damage your Negative position.

Download Your Preseason Documents, too:

You may still access Season 21 downloads here.

All Season 22 Basic Downloads will be updated by August 31, 2021. They will remain available through Season 22.

Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate

All Members have access to the digital copy of Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate by Chris Jeub. Download it below or order a hard copy.

Season 22 Release Schedule

Monument releases content all year long, from one national tournament to another, in what we call "seasons." We are entering Season 22 (2021-2022). For a list of all Member downloads for Season 21, click here. The following is the general release schedule for Season 22:

End of Season 21 - Officially archived on June 28, 2021. The new Season 22 releases begin July 5, 2021.
July-August - The first Monument Monday releases July 5, 2021. Basic informational material will continue through the summer (e.g. summaries, resolutional articles, etc.).
August 30, 2021 - End of the Pre-season, beginning of the official year of Monument Speech and Debate.
~~Christmas~~ Thanksgiving 2021 (we finished early!) - All foundational downloads are complete! Summaries of all releases are now available.
Through March 2022 - BONUS material released to members on a more as-needed basis using our Coaching Request Form.
April-June, 2022 - Qualifier and Nationals Preparation work is arranged...and Monument Members will be prepared to win!

Season 22 Debate Resolutions

Resolutions for Season 22 are posted here as they are announced by various speech and debate leagues.

Policy (all season):
- NCFCA: "Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction."
- NSDA: "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its protection of water resources in the United States."
- NSDA Vote for Season 23 (Due December 15, 2021):
  - OPTION 1 – GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE – Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its support of multilateral greenhouse gas emission reduction regimes.
  - OPTION 2 – GLOBAL GEO-POLITICAL CRISIS: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.
- Stoa: "Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reform the use of Artificial Intelligence technology."
Lincoln-Douglas:
- NCFCA (all season): "Resolved: In the context of innovation, the proactionary principle ought to be valued above the precautionary principle."
- NSDA releases six resolutions through the year:
  - Sept/Oct Novice: "Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified."
  - Sept/Oct Varsity: "Resolved: The member nations of the World Trade Organization ought to reduce intellectual property protections for medicines."
  - Nov/Dec: "Resolved: A just government ought to recognize an unconditional right of workers to strike."
  - Jan/Feb: "Resolved: The appropriation of outer space by private entities is unjust."
  - Next release is due February 1, 2022.
- Stoa (all season): "Resolved: In the field of biomedical engineering, restraint ought to be prioritized over scientific advancement."
Other Formats:
- Big Questions Debate (all season): "Resolved: On balance, societies benefit from religious belief and practice."
- Public Forum for Sept/Oct: "Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization should substantially increase its defense commitments to the Baltic states."
- Public Forum for Nov/Dec: "Resolved: Increased United States federal regulation of cryptocurrency transactions and/or assets will produce more benefits than harms."
- Public Forum for January: "Resolved: The United States federal government should legalize all illicit drugs."
- Public Forum's next release is due January 1, 2022.

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